Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PORTSMOUTH — Last season the Portsmouth Trojans went 20-6, reached the Division III regional title game and shared the Ohio Valley Conference title.

There’s a good chance the Trojans are planning an instant replay.

The Trojans return three starters including 6-foot-1 senior guard Ky’re Allison who was the Southeast District Player of the Year and first team All-Ohio.

“What you saw last year will be the same this year,” said Portsmouth coach Eugene Collins. “We will resemble that same style. We are going to continue to try and get up and down the court. We are going to try to become better defensively.

“A lot of times we’ll have five guards on the court. We want to score more points than we have in the past and in order to do that, we have to become more efficient offensively.”

Allison provided a lot of offense. He averaged 18.1 points a game and is 312 points shy of the school’s career scoring record.

Also back in the starting lineup will be long-range shooting Kendall Reynolds — a 6-3 junior — and 6-foot senior guard Ethan Leonard.

The loss of All-Ohio point guard Sky Oliver will be filled by shifting Allison into that position.

“Allison is going to be our point guard. He’s going to have the ball in his hands a lot. We expect a lot out of him,” said Collins.

The other two starting positions will come from either 6-1 sophomore Cole Lowery, 6-foot senior guard Trent Rodbell, 6-3 junior forward Dakota Reynolds and 6-foot sophomore Jordan Lucas who played at Coal Grove last season.

“(Lucas) has got some tournament experience which is invaluable,” said Collins.

“Getting some of these young kids varsity experience will be key for us. And every year, with our size, rebounding is always going to be a challenge.”

Collins said the Trojans may go 10 deep depending on how well the younger players develop.

“We’ll wait until we get into January and February to determine if that bench stays long or if we have to shorten it,” said Collins.

Portsmouth Trojans

2015-16 Basketball Roster

No. Player Pos. Ht. Gr.

1 Cole Lowery G 6-01 So.

2 Ethan Leonard G 6-00 Sr.

3 Ky’re Allison G 6-01 Sr.

11 Trent Rodbell G 6-00 Sr.

14 D.J. Eley G 5-08 So.

21 Mike Malone G 5-08 Jr.

22 A.J. Jones G 5-11 Jr.

23 Dakota Reynolds F 6-03 Jr.

24 Kendall Reynolds F 6-03 Jr.

30 Daniel Jordan F 6-02 So.

32 Jordan Lucas F 6-00 So.

33 Reese Johnson F 6-01 So.

34 Ty Oliver F 5-10 Jr.

40 Jahmir King F 6-01 Jr.

Head coach: Eugene Collins

 

2014-15 Basketball Schedule

December

1 SOUTH WEBSTER 7:30

12 at Shawnee St. Tourney TBD

15 COAL GROVE# 7:30

18 at South Point# 7:30

21 at Ironton Classic TBD

26 MANCHESTER% 8:00

28 WENDY’S CLASSIC 9:00

January

5 CHESAPEAKE# 7:30

8 FAIRLAND# 7:30

9 at Beasts of Southeast% 2:00

12 at Rock Hill# 7:30

15 Gallipolis# 8:00

16 at Peebles 7:30

19 at Ironton# 8:00

22 Coal Grove# 7:30

26 SOUTH POINT# 7:30

29 at Chesapeake# 7:30

February

2 IRONTON# 8:00

5 at Fairland# 7:30

9 ROCK HILL# 7:30

10 at Wheelersburg 7:30

12 GALLIPOLIS# 8:00

#-Denotes OVC game

%-at Chesapeake